Qantas Trying Out In-Flight Connectivity

Australia’s Qantas Airlines will test out in-flight telephony on one of its 767’s on domestic routes in 2007.

According to the The Sydney Morning Herald:

Mobile phones will connect to a mini-base station on board the aircraft known as a picocell. This will pass calls through a satellite connection to ground-based mobile networks via a gateway in Norway. The picocell controls the power output of the mobile phones and throws a low radio frequency blanket over the cabin to prevent handhelds from interfering with the plane’s navigation instruments as they try to connect to base stations on the ground.

Users will be billed for the service through their own phone companies. The article doesn’t include any information about charges for the telephony service.

Note: Notice how I didn’t spell Qantas with a “u” this time…